Rejection of false turns of rotary inputs for electronic devices

This application is a continuation patent application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/585,013, filed Feb. 22, 2024 and titled “Rejection of False Turns of Rotary Inputs for Electronic Devices,” which is a continuation patent application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/140,351, filed Apr. 27, 2023 and titled “Rejection of False Turns of Rotary Inputs for Electronic Devices,” now U.S. Pat. No. 12,045,416, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/735,695, filed May 3, 2022 and titled “Rejection of False Turns of Rotary Inputs for Electronic Devices,” now U.S. Pat. No. 11,669,205, which is a continuation patent application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/118,088, filed Dec. 10, 2020, and titled “Rejection of False Turns of Rotary Inputs for Electronic Devices,” now U.S. Pat. No. 11,347,351, which is a continuation patent application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/840,336, filed Apr. 4, 2020, and titled “Rejection of False Turns of Rotary Inputs for Electronic Devices,” now U.S. Pat. No. 10,884,549, which is a continuation patent application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/262,728, filed Jan. 30, 2019, and titled “Rejection of False Turns of Rotary Inputs for Electronic Devices,” now U.S. Pat. No. 10,613,685, which is a continuation patent application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/048,081, filed Jul. 27, 2018 and titled “Rejection of False Turns of Rotary Inputs for Electronic Devices,” now U.S. Pat. No. 10,222,909, which is a continuation patent application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/117,819, filed Aug. 10, 2016 and titled “Rejection of False Turns of Rotary Inputs for Electronic Devices,” now U.S. Pat. No. 10,048,802, which is a 35 U.S.C. § 371 patent application of PCT Patent Application No. PCT/US2014/016079, filed Feb. 12, 2014 and titled “Rejection of False Turns of Rotary Inputs for Electronic Devices,” the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

The present disclosure relates generally to rotary input devices for electronic devices, and more particularly relates to rotary input devices for wearable electronic devices.

Electronic devices—such as wearable computing devices (e.g., watches), mobile devices, mobile phones, tablet computers, music and multi-media players, gaming devices, and other handheld, wearable or portable devices—have one or more inputs such as buttons, touch screens, switches, and rotary inputs that can perform various functions.

With some rotary inputs or rotary controls, the present inventors have recognized that there may be false inputs that are not intended by the user but occur when the rotary inputs are inadvertently or unintentionally moved by contact with clothing, portions of a user's arm or hand or other items.

1 1 FIGS.A-B 1 FIG.A 1 FIG.A 1 FIG.C 20 22 20 22 22 22 24 26 20 24 26 22 20 20 For instance, as shown in, with a wearable electronic devicein the form of a watch, rotary input(s) may be in the form of a crownthat rotates to provide input to and control of the wearable electronic device. Since this crownis a user input, external to the device, it is possible during normal wear that the crownwill be turned without the user intending it be turned—for example, when a user puts their hand in their pocket or rotates their wrist into extension (), hitting the crowninto their lower forearmor the back of their hand().shows an electronic devicepositioned on a user's body (represented by dashed lines,) that could be the user's arm or back of the user's hand. If such a rotary inputalso wakes the electronic devicefrom a sleep mode and turns on the screen, these false turns may not only be distracting to the user, they may also waste battery charge of devicethat could have been saved for intended interactions.

1 FIG.B 22 20 Rotational motion of the user's hand or arm-such as shown inor when for instance the user is opening a door, unscrewing a jar lid, or the like—may also result in inadvertent, unintentional false turns of the crownof the wearable electronic device.

Accordingly, as recognized by the present inventors, what is needed are mechanisms and processes for detecting and rejecting false, unintended rotations of rotary inputs of electronic devices.

According to one broad aspect of one embodiment of the present disclosure, disclosed herein is an electronic device configured to differentiate between false turns of a rotary input device unintended by a user, and valid turns of the rotary input device intended by the user. In one example, an electronic device may include a processor; a rotary input coupled with the processor, the rotary input having a shaft connected with a crown, the rotary input providing rotary input turn data to the processor when the rotary input is rotated; and a module operating on the electronic device, the module determining whether the rotary input turn data from the rotary input is invalid data resulting from unintended rotations of the rotary input.

In one example, the module determines whether an amount of rotations of the rotary input is greater than a threshold amount of rotations, and if not, the input turn data is considered invalid data. In another example, the module determines whether a rate of rotations of the rotary input is greater than a threshold rate of rotations, and if not, the input turn data is considered invalid data.

In another example, the electronic device may include a shield extending from the housing, the shield positioned around a bottom portion of the crown. The shield can reduce inadvertent contact between the user's body (such as the user's arm or back of the hand) with the crown of the rotary input.

In another example, the electronic device may include the shaft being positioned on the housing along an axis that is positioned above a centerline of the housing. In this manner, inadvertent contact between the user's body (such as the user's arm or back of the hand) with the crown of the rotary input is reduced when compared with an electronic device having the shaft of the rotary device positioned at or below the centerline of the housing.

In another example, the electronic device may include a light source positioned within the housing, the light source emitting light in a direction toward a portion of the user's body; and a detector positioned within the housing, the detector detecting one or more reflections of the light from the portion of the user's body. In this example, the module determines whether the portion of the user's body is in contact with the crown, and if so, the input turn data may be considered invalid data.

In another embodiment, the electronic device may include one or more capacitive sensors positioned on the crown, the sensors configured to detect contact with a user's finger. In this example, the module determines whether the rotation of the rotary input resulted from contact between the user's finger and the crown, and if not, the input turn data may be considered invalid data.

In another example, an electronic device may include one or more sensors detecting a position or movement/deflection of the shaft. In this example, based on the shaft deflection the module determines whether the rotation of the rotary input resulted from contact with an upper portion of the crown, and if not, the input turn data may be considered invalid data.

The electronic device may be in various forms, such as a wearable computing device having a touchscreen coupled with the processor. In one example, if the module determines that the input turn data is valid data from the rotary input, the processor alters the contents of the touch screen bases on the input turn data; and if the turn data is determined to be invalid data resulting from false, unintended turns of the rotary input, the turn data is rejected and the processor does not alter the contents of the touch screen based on the input turn data.

According to another broad aspect of another embodiment of the present disclosure, disclosed herein is an electronic device having a housing, wherein the electronic device may include a processor; at least one rotary input coupled with the processor, the rotary input providing rotary input turn data to the processor when the rotary input is rotated, the rotary input having a shaft connected with a crown; and at least one module operating on the electronic device, the module determining whether the rotary input turn data from the rotary input is valid data resulting from a user's rotations of the rotary input.

In one example, the module determines whether an amount of rotations of the rotary input is greater than a threshold amount of rotations, and if so, the input turn data may be considered valid data. In another example, the module determines whether a rate of rotations of the rotary input is greater than a threshold rate of rotations, and if so, the input turn data may be considered valid data.

In another example, the electronic device may include a light source positioned within the housing, the light source emitting light in a direction toward a portion of the user's body; and a detector positioned within the housing, the detector detecting one or more reflections of the light as reflected from the portion of the user's body; wherein the module determines whether the portion of the user's body is in contact with a lower portion of the crown, and if not, the input turn data may be considered valid data.

In another example, the electronic device may include one or more capacitive sensors positioned on the crown, the sensors configured to detect contact with a user's finger; wherein the module determines whether the rotation of the rotary input resulted from contact between the user's finger and the crown, and if so, the input turn data may be considered valid data.

In one example, the electronic device may include one or more sensors detecting a position of the shaft; wherein the module determines whether the rotation of the rotary input resulted from contact with an upper portion of the crown, and if so, the input turn data may be considered valid data.

According to another broad aspect of another embodiment of the present disclosure, disclosed herein is a process for an electronic device having at least one rotary input providing data, the process may include detecting one or more rotations of the rotary input; and determining whether the rotations resulted from inadvertent contact with the rotary input. In one example, if the determining operation determines that the rotations resulted from inadvertent contact with the rotary input, the data from the rotary input may be rejected.

In another example, the process may include detecting a distance between the electronic device and a portion of a user's body; and comparing the distance to a threshold distance to determine whether the rotations resulted from inadvertent contact with the rotary input.

In another example, the process may include detecting a presence or an absence of contact on the rotary input with a user's finger to determine whether the rotations resulted from inadvertent contact with the rotary input.

In one example, the process may include detecting a position of a shaft of the rotary input to determine whether the rotations resulted from inadvertent contact with the rotary input.

Other embodiments of the disclosure are described herein. The features, utilities and advantages of various embodiments of this disclosure will be apparent from the following more particular description of embodiments as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

Disclosed herein are various embodiments of mechanisms and processes for detecting and rejecting false, unintended rotations of rotary inputs of electronic devices, such as wearable computing devices. In one example of the present disclosure, an electronic device is provided with an optical detector that measures the distance between the electronic device and a surface of the wearer's forearm or hand, and when the distance is smaller than a baseline or threshold distance, the turns of the rotary input may be considered to be false, unintended turns. In another example of the present disclosure, a crown of a rotary input of an electronic device includes one or more capacitive sensors which detect the presence of a wearer's finger, which when absent, the turns of the rotary input may be considered to be false, unintended turns. In another example, deflections or positions of a shaft of a rotary input of an electronic device are measured and if the deflections/positions indicate an upward force on the rotary input (which are likely caused by the wearer's forearm or hand), the turns of the rotary input may be considered to be false, unintended turns. Other embodiments are described herein.

2 FIG. 30 32 30 32 34 35 34 30 36 30 38 39 40 30 illustrates an example of a wearable electronic devicehaving a plurality of rotatable inputs, in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure. Electronic device, in this example in the form of a computing device wearable on a user's wrist, may have one or more rotary inputswhich may include a crown or other structurewhich may be attached to a shaft, wherein the crownis configured to be rotated by the user, for instance by one or more of the user's fingers or thumbs. The electronic devicemay include a housingthat encloses and protects the contents of electronic device, a display(such as a touch screen) to display data and information to the user as well as to accept touch input from the user, audio output/speakers, and in one example may also include a band or other structureto attach the electronic deviceto the user, for instance to the user's arm.

30 30 34 Devicemay be configured to accommodate both left and right handed use, in which case a user can decide to orient the deviceand crownpointing either up the user's arm or down the user's arm, as desired.

30 42 44 46 3 FIG. Electronic devicemay be configured as a portable computing device, and as shown in, may include a processor, memory(which may include ROM and RAM for program memory and data stores), and communications interfaces(such as but not limited to wireless interfaces, Bluetooth interfaces, USB interfaces, Wi-Fi interfaces, TCP/IP interfaces, network communications interfaces, or any conventional communication interfaces).

30 48 50 38 52 53 32 30 Electronic devicemay include various input devices, such as but not limited to, touch inputs(which may be part of or separate from touchscreen), audio/microphone input, data from accelerometer(s), and rotary inputswhich can be provided to enable a user to manipulate or control electronic device, and other inputs such as buttons, switches, sliders or any other conventional input.

32 42 34 34 34 In one example, rotary inputsprovide rotary input turn data to the processor, and such turn data may include, but is not limited to, a number of turns, or increments of turns, of crown, a direction of turns (e.g., clockwise or counterclockwise rotation of crown), a rate of turns, a length of time of rotations of crown, and other data and parameters as described herein.

32 34 As used herein, the terms “turns” or “rotations” or the like (such as in the phrases “false turns” or “inadvertent turns”) include any movements, fractional rotations, partial rotations, full rotations, revolutions or any degree or amount of rotary movement of rotary input/crown, and these terms are used interchangeably herein.

32 30 38 Rotary inputallow a user to perform a variety of functions, such as but not limited to scroll contents of displays, scroll menus, scroll selections or options, manipulate lists or data, advance or rewind audio or video, move pointers, or perform other various controls of electronic deviceor the content of display.

30 54 32 54 54 42 30 In accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure, electronic devicemay include one or more module(s)for detecting and/or handling false or inadvertent movements or turns of the rotary inputs. Module(s)may include one or more of the features, functions or processes disclosed herein. Module(s)may be implemented in various manners, such as but not limited to, as hardware devices, specialized integrated circuits, logic, computer program products, code modules operating on processoror device, or in any combination thereof.

30 54 32 34 32 34 Various embodiments of electronic deviceare described having one or more module(s)that can determine whether turns of rotary input/crown(along with the associated rotary input turn data) are (or possibly are) false inadvertent turns with invalid data that were unintended by the user, or whether turns of rotary input/crown(along with the associated rotary input turn data) are (or possibly are) turns with valid data that were intended by the user.

4 FIG. 30 32 60 62 24 26 64 62 62 32 30 32 62 24 26 34 24 26 34 34 24 26 34 34 illustrates an example of an electronic devicewith a rotary input, wherein the electronic device is configured with a light sourceto emit lightonto the wearer's body (such as the user's armor back of the user's hand), and a detectorthat detects reflections of light. The lightcan be emitted prior to and/or during rotation of the rotary input. Based on the characteristics of the reflections, electronic devicedetermines whether to reject the rotations of rotary inputas false, inadvertent rotations or as valid rotations intended by the user. For instance, the lightcan be used to determine the distance from the crown to the wearer's armor back of the wearer's hand, and the determined distance can be used as a factor in deciding whether rotations of the crownshould be rejected or accepted. In one example, if the detected light reflections indicate that the wearer's armor handare outside of a specified distance away from the crown, then the rotations of crowncan be deemed valid rotations intended by the user; and conversely, if the detected light reflections indicate that the wearer's armor handare within a specified distance near the crown, then the rotations of crowncan be deemed false, inadvertent rotations and rejected.

24 26 34 24 26 34 In another example, the distance from the crown to the user's armor handis used as a factor in deciding whether to accept or reject rotations of the crown. For example, when the distance from the crown to the user's armor handgoes to zero or is within a defined distance, turns of the crownwould be rejected unless it is detected that the crown was touched in at least two discrete places, such as a top portion of the crown and a bottom portion of the crown, such as when the user is attempting to rotate the crown while the user's hand is in an extension position.

60 35 32 60 35 60 26 30 36 In one example, the light sourcecan be a light emitting diode (LED) such as an infrared LED. In one embodiment, the shaftof the rotary input(or portions of the shaft) may be clear or transparent or may include a light pipe, and the light sourcemay be configured so that the light emits out of the shaft. In another example, the light sourcemay be positioned to transmit light out of the housingof the electronic device, such as through an opening or a window in the housing.

64 36 64 36 36 36 Detectorcan be an optical detector such as a photodiode that detects reflected light, such as but not limited to infrared light. The housingmay be provided with a window, and the detectorcan be placed within the housingadjacent to the window. For instance, the window may be a dedicated window in the housing, or a speaker port or other opening in the housingcan also serve as the window where the detector receives reflected light.

5 FIG. 70 70 72 In, an example of a process for detecting and rejecting false turns of a rotary input of an electronic device is shown, in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure. At operationlight is transmitted by the electronic device. In one example, operationtransmits infrared light, although other types of light may be transmitted. Operationdetects reflections of the transmitted light.

74 70 72 72 At operation, a distance can be calculated based on the transmitted light of operationand reflected light detected by operation. For instance, operationcan detect reflections of the transmitted light off of a user's arm or back of the hand depending upon the position of the electronic device relative to the user.

70 74 In one example, operations-may be performed during an initialization or calibration phase, for instance by prompting the user through the display of the electronic device for the user to place the electronic device on the user's wrist in a normal, flat, non-extended position. This can be used to determine a baseline or default distance value.

76 78 78 70 72 74 At operation, movements or turns of the crown or rotary input are detected, and operationdetermines a distance, for instance a distance from the electronic device to a wearer's arm or back of the hand that exists while the crown is being rotated. In one example, operationmay include transmitting light, detecting reflected light, and calculating a distance based on the reflected light, in a manner similar to operation,,.

80 80 80 78 74 78 82 78 84 84 Operationdetermines whether the distance measured by operationis acceptable or unacceptable. For instance, operationmay determine whether the distance measured by operationis below a desired threshold, wherein the threshold may be established by the distance calculated at operation. For instance, in one example, a distance of zero or near zero may indicate that the crown is in direct contact with the wearer's back of the hand or forearm. If an acceptable distance is measured by operation, then control may be passed to operationwhere the rotations of the crown/rotary input are accepted as true, intended user input. Conversely, if an unacceptable distance is measured by operation, then control may be passed to operationwhere the rotations of the crown/rotary input may be rejected as false, unintended user input. In another example, operationmay indicate that the unacceptable distance be used as a factor in determining whether the turns of the rotary input of the electronic device may be false turns.

80 82 86 If operations-determine that the turns of the rotary input are true, intended turns, then operationcan process the movements of the rotary inputs as needed so that the electronic device responds appropriately to the user input received through the rotary input (such as but not limited to, changing the contents of the display, providing audible feedback, or otherwise processing the rotary input received from the user).

6 6 FIG.A-B 6 FIG.B 30 32 90 32 90 90 90 90 90 34 90 90 34 34 In another embodiment of the present disclosure and referring to, an electronic devicecan be formed having a rotary inputhaving one or more capacitive sensorsto aid in detecting and rejecting false turns of rotary input. In one example, capacitive sensorsare shown in(side view) as four sensorsA,B,C andD, each positioned about a portion of the crown. It is understood that more or fewer sensorscould be used, and sensorscould be positioned on other portions of crownor positioned in different orientations on crown.

90 90 34 34 90 34 34 In one example, sensorscan be used sense distance to the wearer, for instance distance from the crown to the wearer's wrist or back of the hand, or to sense or detect actual contact therebetween. In another example, sensorscan also be used to detect a user's finger placed on top of crown, or on a side of crown, to actuate the crown. Sensorscan also be used to distinguish whether rotation of crownis resulting from detected contact with the top of the crown, which would tend to indicate that the rotation is intended by the user through a finger of the user; or whether rotation is resulting from detected contact with the bottom of the crown, which would tend to indicate contact with a wearer's arm or back of their hand which is a false, unintended rotation that may be rejected.

30 32 90 34 32 42 54 30 4 54 54 32 34 32 34 32 34 In one example, electronic deviceutilizes a rotary encoder (e.g., an absolute position rotary encoder) as part of the rotary input, and may also include with capacitive sensorsin the crown. The rotary encoder may be configured, in one example, to have marked lines, detents or other indicia delineating a portion, fraction, increment or unit of movement when compared with a full rotation of the rotary input. In one example, the rotary encoder may have 50 marked lines across a full 360 degree rotation, which can be interpolated upwardly by the processor, false turn rejection moduleor other element within device, such as by a factor of four (X) to create 200 counts per revolution or rotation which equates to approximately 1.8 degrees of resolution. In this manner, processorand/or false turn rejection modulecan detect a fractional/partial amount or degree of rotatory movement of the rotary input/crownwhich is less than a full rotation of the rotary input/crown. It is understood that the amount of resolution of detected rotatory movement of rotary input/crowncan be larger or smaller in other embodiments, depending upon the particular implementation, as is the interpolation of such detected movement.

30 90 34 92 30 90 94 30 30 34 90 94 30 34 90 92 30 90 90 6 FIG.A 6 FIG.A Electronic devicecan be configured to dynamically determine, at any given time, which sensorson the crownare towards the upper portion or top surface() of electronic device, and which sensorson the crown are towards the lower portion or bottom surface() of the electronic device. In one example, electronic devicecould be configured so that rotations of the crownresulting from contact detected by sensorstowards the lower portion/bottomof the electronic devicemay be ignored or rejected as false turns, while rotations of the crownresulting from contact detected by sensorstowards the upper portionof electronic devicemay be accepted as valid input intended by the user. In another example, the lower portion of crown sensorscould be dynamically desensitized, while the upper portion of the crown sensorscould be dynamically highly sensitized.

90 34 90 34 90 90 34 In another example of the present disclosure, sensorson crowncan be used to distinguish the touch of a finger versus false turns resulting from a touch of a wrist or back of the user's hand. Sensorson crownmay sense the presence of a user's finger by determining a local capacitance maximum value detected; in contrast, the capacitance profile generated by contact of a user's wrist with sensorsmay appear more like a plane of capacitance and less like a local maximum. In this manner, sensorson crowncan be used to distinguish the touch of a finger versus false turns resulting from a touch of a wrist or back of the user's hand.

7 FIG. 6 FIG.A 6 FIG.A 100 92 94 illustrates an example of a process for detecting and rejecting false turns of a rotary input of an electronic device, in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure. At operation, the position of the capacitive sensors relative to the electronic device are determined. In one example, the position of the sensors relative to the top (in) and/or bottom (in) of the device may be determined based on the rotary position of the crown or position of the shaft of the crown, for instance through the use of a rotary encoder.

102 104 106 94 92 106 108 6 FIG.A 6 FIG.A At operation, movements or turns of the rotary input device are detected. At operation, the capacitive sensors on the rotary input device are read, for instance, to determine which of the capacitive sensors detect touch or contact from a user. At operation, a determination is made whether the contact is originating from capacitive sensors positioned towards the bottom (in) of the device or towards the top (in) of the device. If operationdetermines that contact is originating from sensors positioned towards the bottom of the device, then operationmay reject the turns of the rotary input as false or unintended turns.

106 110 112 Conversely, if operationdetermines that contact is originating from sensors positioned toward the top of the device, then operationmay accept the turns of the rotary input as true, intended turns by the user. Operationmay then process the rotations of the rotary input, and the electronic device may respond accordingly.

In one example, if sensors towards the top and towards the bottom of the device are simultaneously triggered, this input scenario could mean that the user is contacting the top of the crown with a finger while the bottom of the crown is being contacted by the user's arm or back of the hand. In one example, such scenario could be processed as true user input based on an assumption that the user is intentionally rotating the rotary input in a manner that is overcoming the contact from the user's arm or back of the hand.

8 FIG. 30 32 34 35 120 32 35 32 122 illustrates an example of a block diagram of an electronic devicewith a rotary inputhaving a crownattached to a shaft, wherein a shaft deflection detectoris provided to aid in detecting and rejecting false turns of the rotary input, in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure. In one example, the shaftof the rotary inputis positioned or supported by pivot supports or suspension supports, which may include one or more O-rings.

120 35 35 35 32 35 34 34 24 26 Shaft deflection detector, in one example, measures or determines the position of the shaft(such as an internal end of the shaft), such as by determining the distance and/or direction that shaftmoves or travels during a rotation of rotary input. The deflections of shaftare used to determine whether the turns of crownare resulting from downward force for instance from a user's finger or thumb (which would be associated with true, intended rotary input), or resulting from upward force for instance from inadvertent contact between the crownand the user's armor back of the hand(which would be associated with false, unintended rotary input).

120 34 24 26 34 In another embodiment, detectorsenses the moment or torque caused by downward pressure of a finger on the crown, compared to the negative moment caused by upward pressure of the user's armor wriston the crown.

9 FIG. illustrates an example of a process for detecting and rejecting false turns of a rotary input of an electronic device, in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure.

130 At operation, the position of the shaft of the rotary input relative to the electronic device is determined. In one example, the position of the shaft relative to the top and/or bottom of the device may be determined for instance through the use of a position sensor or torque sensor configured to monitor the shaft.

132 134 136 136 34 24 26 138 At operation, movements or turns of the rotary input device are detected. At operation, the deflection or direction of shaft movement is detected. At operation, a determination is made whether the rotation of the crown/rotary input is originating from generally upward contact with the crown, or originating from generally downward contact with the crown. If operationdetermines that the rotation of the crown/rotary input is originating from generally upward contact with the crown—for instance from inadvertent contact between the crownand the user's armor back of the handwhich would be associated with false, unintended rotary input-then operationmay reject the turns of the rotary input as false or unintended turns.

136 140 142 Conversely, if operationdetermines that the rotation of the crown/rotary input is originating from generally downward contact with the crown—for instance from contact from a user's finger or thumb into the crown which would be associated with true, intended rotary input—then operationmay accept the turns of the rotary input as true, intended turns by the user. Operationmay then process the rotations of the rotary input, and the electronic device may respond accordingly.

10 FIG. 3 FIG. 30 32 54 32 illustrates an example an electronic devicewith a rotary inputand one or more modules (for instance, modulesin) that aid in detecting and rejecting false turns of the rotary input, in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure.

54 54 32 32 30 32 35 In one example, modulesperform one or more functions or operations described herein. Modulesmay also differentiate between true, intended turns of rotary inputand false, unintended turns of rotary inputby analyzing characteristics of the rotations detected by electronic devicewhen rotary inputmoves. For instance, false turns would be expected to be relatively short duration, low torque events since they are often due to friction. These events could be rejected using a torque sensor measuring torque about the shaft axis, or a rotary detector or rotatory encoder in communications with the shaftmeasuring characteristics of shaft rotations.

30 32 30 In one example, one or more thresholds (such as a minimum number of rotations, a minimum rate of rotations, a minimum amount of time during rotations, a minimum amount of rotational torque, or any combination thereof) may be defined and stored in device, wherein the characteristics of the detected rotations of rotary inputneed to exceed the threshold before electronic deviceaccepts the rotations as valid, intended input from the user.

30 38 32 30 38 In one example, the electronic device, when in a sleep mode (for instance, with the displayoff) and upon detecting rotation of rotary input, may determine whether the characteristics of the rotations exceed the threshold(s), and if not, the detected turns may be deemed false, unintended turns and the deviceis maintained in the sleep mode (with the displayoff), thereby conserving stored battery energy.

30 30 38 Conversely, if the devicedetermines the characteristics of the rotations exceed the threshold(s), the detected turns may be deemed true, intended turns and the deviceawakes out of the sleep mode and the displaymay be activated.

34 32 30 30 For instance as an example for illustrative purposes only, approximately 160 to 180 degrees of turn of the crownof inputmay be a minimum threshold to register or trigger waking up the electronic deviceout of a sleep mode or to perform other functions of the electronic device.

30 In another example, once the deviceis awake, the threshold(s) for accepting rotations of the rotary input could be reduced so as to accept lower torques or other lower rotary input characteristics as valid, intended rotary input.

11 FIG. 150 152 154 illustrates an example of a process for detecting and rejecting false turns of a rotary input of an electronic device, in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure. At operation, the electronic device is in a sleep mode, for instance in a low-power mode with the display off and with one or more of other components of the electronic device in a low-power or sleep mode. At operation, movements or turns of the rotary input/crown are detected. At operation, characteristics of the rotation or movement of the rotary input are measured or determined. In one example, these characteristics may include but are not limited to the number of rotations, the rate of rotations, the amount of time during rotations, the amount of rotational torque, or any combination thereof.

156 154 156 158 150 At operation, a determination is made as to whether the characteristics of the detected rotations, as measured by operation, meet or exceed one or more rotation characteristic thresholds. These thresholds may include but are not limited to a minimum number of rotations, a minimum rate of rotations, a minimum amount of time during rotations, a minimum amount of rotational torque, or any combination thereof. If operationdetermines that the detected rotations of the rotary input did not meet or exceed the rotation characteristic thresholds, then control is passed to operationwherein the detected rotations/turns of the rotary input/crown may be rejected as false, unintended turns; and control may be returned to operationwherein the electronic device is maintained in a sleep mode.

156 160 162 164 152 If operationdetermines that the detected rotations of the rotary input do meet or exceed the rotation characteristic thresholds, then control is passed to operationwherein the detected rotations/turns of the rotary input/crown may be accepted as true, intended turns and valid user input; and control may be passed to operationwherein the electronic device may be awoken out of the sleep mode, and the display and other functional components of the device may be started up into a normal, operating mode. At operation, the movements of the rotary input/crown, for instance as detected by operation, are processed accordingly and the electronic device responds to such rotary input by performing one or more functions or operations programmed on the electronic device.

30 30 30 32 1 FIG.A In another example of electronic device, a photoplethysmograph (PPG) sensor may be provided within deviceto measures the relative blood flow through the user's body proximate the location of the electronic device (such as but not limited to the user's arm/wrist), and to detect, for instance, a wrist clench characteristic or a wrist extension condition. When a wrist clench or extension condition (such as shown in) is detected via the PPG sensor data, these conditions may be considered by the electronic devicewhen determining whether detected rotations of the rotary inputare false/unintended turns or true/intended turns.

12 FIG. 1 1 FIGS.A,B 30 32 170 36 170 34 170 32 34 24 26 170 32 34 170 34 34 illustrates another example of an electronic devicewith a rotary inputhaving a mechanical structure such as a shieldextending from the housing, wherein the shieldsurrounds a portion of the crown. Shieldaids in reducing occurrences of false turns of the rotary input, by shielding or partially shielding crownfrom physical contact with a user's armor back of handor other body parts. For instance, shieldcan reduce the occurrence of false, inadvertent turns of rotary input/crownduring wrist extensions or other movement (such as movements shown in). Shieldmay be configured to cover the bottom of the crown, the sides of crown, or both.

13 FIG. 30 32 32 34 34 180 182 36 30 32 34 34 34 182 36 30 illustrates an example of an electronic devicewith a rotary inputpositioned at upwardly offset position to aid in reducing occurrences of false turns of the rotary input/crown, in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure. In this example, the crownis positioned or centered about an axisthat is above the centerlineof the housingof device. The upwardly offset position of rotary inputincreases the amount of space between the bottom of the crownand the user's back of the hand or lower forearm. In this manner, occurrences of false turns of crownare decreased when compared with when the crownis positioned or centered at or below the centerlineof the housingof device.

30 30 38 38 34 In another example of electronic device, electronic devicecan be configured so that if on touch screen, two fingers are detected as contacting display, then rotational input to the crownmay be considered false input.

30 30 53 30 30 32 34 30 30 In another example of electronic device, electronic devicemay be configured so that when accelerometersenses that the deviceis moving with general rotational motion or with randomized motion (such as during exercise by the user), devicemay require a larger amount of rotations of rotary input/crownor a longer time duration of crown rotations, in order to accept the rotations/input as valid, intended input or to wake up deviceif deviceis in a sleep mode.

30 32 30 Hence, it can be seen that various embodiments of the present disclosure provide an electronic devicethat detect and/or handle false or inadvertent movements or turns of the rotary inputswhich are unintended by the user. An electronic devicecan be formed utilizing one or more of the features, functions, processes or structures disclosed herein.

While the methods disclosed herein have been described and shown with reference to particular operations performed in a particular order, it will be understood that these operations may be combined, sub-divided, or re-ordered to form equivalent methods without departing from the teachings of the present disclosure. Accordingly, unless specifically indicated herein, the order and grouping of the operations is not a limitation of the present disclosure.

It is understood that the directional references provided herein, such as top, bottom, upwards, downwards, clockwise, counterclockwise, left, right, and the like, are provided to describe examples of the embodiments disclosed herein, and are not intended to be limiting.

It should be appreciated that in the foregoing description of exemplary embodiments of the disclosure, various features of the disclosure are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, Figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure and aiding in the understanding of one or more of the various aspects. This method of disclosure, however, is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claims require more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, inventive aspects lie in less than all features of a single foregoing disclosed embodiment, and each embodiment described herein may contain more than one inventive feature.

While the disclosure is presented and described with reference to embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various other changes in the form and details may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.